Southwest Orlando Young Life
An Area Case for Support

Building Young Life
in Southwest Orlando

In and Beyond the Magic — establishing a thriving, sustainable area that reaches teenagers with real relationship and full life in Christ.

A Word from Ryder

Two minutes. Who we are. What we're building. Why now.

Become a Partner Or keep scrolling to see the full vision.
The next generation in Southwest Orlando
is searching for life.
We build real relationships with young people across Windermere, Horizon West, Dr. Phillips, and the communities surrounding the Magic — and introduce them to Jesus, who offers real life.
Our Mission · Southwest Orlando Young Life
A Unique Mission Field

Why Southwest Orlando — and Why Now

Southwest Orlando is unlike any other Young Life mission field in the country. Windermere, Horizon West, Dr. Phillips, and the communities surrounding Walt Disney World form one of the fastest-growing youth populations in America — and one of the most relationally complex. This is a once-in-a-generation window to establish ministry infrastructure before the explosive growth outpaces the adults willing to show up for these kids.

Metro
2.9M
people — #1 growth rate in the US
Annual
76K+
new residents arriving every year
Disney Cast
80K
cast members living in the region
DCP / Semester
4K
College Program participants — a leader pipeline

Affluent suburbs sit blocks away from working-class apartment communities. Cast Member families work irregular, demanding shifts. Achievement-driven schools push students toward exhaustion and performance-based identity. And underneath it all, a generation shaped by social media and AI is quietly desperate for something — and someone — real.

"The most protective factor against youth mental health decline is a consistent, caring adult relationship outside the home." — U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on Youth Mental Health
What Makes This Area Different

Four Unique Opportunities

A Fast-Growing Home Field

Windermere, Horizon West, and Dr. Phillips — high-performing schools and rapidly arriving families, all searching for community and belonging.

Beyond the Magic

Cast Member families, apartment communities, and multicultural neighborhoods surrounding the resort corridor — teens who are often the most relationally isolated in the region.

A Built-In Leader Pipeline

~4,000 Disney College Program participants per semester at Flamingo Crossings — motivated young adults, far from home, ready to pour into kids.

High Leadership & Donor Capacity

Southwest Orlando is a community with the means, motivation, and track record to become deeply invested partners — building a sustainable area that doesn't just launch, but lasts for a generation.

How Young Life Works

Your Investment, From a Lunchroom to a Life Changed

Area support funds the full relational pipeline — every stage of how a teenager goes from a stranger to someone deeply known:

C
Contact Work
Leaders show up where kids are — games, lunchrooms, school events. Earning the right to be heard.
C
Club
A weekly party with a purpose — games, music, and an honest talk about life and faith.
C
Campaigners
Small-group Bible study for kids who want to go deeper — scripture, questions, and friendship.
C
Camp
A week at a Young Life camp — described by kids as the best week of their lives.
The Area Investment

Building a $350,000 Area

A thriving, sustainable Southwest Orlando Young Life area requires an annual operating budget of approximately $350,000. This is a right-sized budget for an area serving multiple schools and communities across this fast-growing region — comparable to other Young Life areas reaching similar populations.

The pyramid below shows how we get there: a strong base of recurring monthly partners creating stability, with larger one-time gifts at the top accelerating the launch and establishing the foundation. It takes a community to build a community.

Annual Area Budget
$350K

83 partners. One shared vision. Every level of the pyramid is essential — recurring monthly gifts are the heartbeat that sustains daily ministry, while lead gifts at the top establish and accelerate the area.

$25,000 one-time
Founding Partner
2 partners
$50,000
$10,000 one-time
Vision Partner
5 partners
$50,000
$5,000 one-time
Lead Gift
8 partners
$40,000
$1,000 / month
Cornerstone Monthly Partner
5 partners
$60,000 / yr
$500 / month
Sustaining Monthly Partner
10 partners
$60,000 / yr
$250 / month
Lead Monthly Partner
18 partners
$54,000 / yr
$100 / month
Anchor Monthly Partner
35 partners
$42,000 / yr
83
Total Partners
$356K
Pyramid Total
102%
of $350K Goal
61%
Recurring Monthly
61% Recurring Monthly
39% One-Time
$216,000 from monthly partners — the sustainable base
$140,000 from one-time gifts — the launch accelerator

Every partner — at every level — is building something that will outlast all of us: a generation of Southwest Orlando kids who know they are seen.

Where Your Investment Goes

Every Dollar Funds Relationship

50%
25%
15%
10%
Staff & Leader Development $175K · 50%
Camp & Camperships $87.5K · 25%
Club, Campaigners & Programs $52.5K · 15%
Operations & Outreach $35K · 10%

Half of every dollar goes directly to people — the staff and trained leaders who do the relational work of meeting teenagers where they are. The rest gets kids to camp, runs Club and Campaigners, and keeps the area sustainable.

Will You Help Us Build It?

Build a lasting area
in Southwest Orlando.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish Young Life ministry in one of the fastest-growing regions in America. Whether you partner monthly or give a foundational gift, you're helping build something that will reach kids long after this first season — in the corridors of the Magic and beyond.

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:14–16